Slick graphics, decent interaction, solid storytelling, flawed story.
Two reluctant music students join forces with several jammin’ jungle musicians to form a band.
This 3-D animated storybook begins with two young gorillas grousing about having to go to piano/violin lessons. Their instructor—a grandmotherly gorilla that hangs from a vine—coaxes compliance, which her young protégés grudgingly furnish. As luck would have it, a self-taught drummer and guitarist are trading riffs just a few trees away. When their hip sounds reach the ears of the students, their teacher invites the improvising apes into the school space, and a new band is born. Readers are invited to poke and punch gorillas to prompt their involvement, and tapping each one produces both snippets of music and dialogue. The only beef parents may have with this story is that the music students continually say things like, “This is Grandma music” and “It’s so old fashioned.” True, those are common sentiments among those who would rather skip the discipline and play “cool” music, but the truth is, the great majority of those who play cool music today do so because they were disciplined in the mastery of their instruments. This story never significantly reinforces the value of that, which could lead little ones to believe that their dream of becoming great without instruction or discipline is a reasonable expectation.
Slick graphics, decent interaction, solid storytelling, flawed story. (iPad storybook app, 3-7)Pub Date: Aug. 15, 2013
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Wasabi Productions
Review Posted Online: Aug. 13, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2013
Young readers will be “antsy” to join the hero on her satisfying escapade.
An ant explores her world.
Addie Ant’s ready for adventure. Despite some trepidation about leaving the Tomato Bed, where she lives with her aunt, she plucks up her courage and ventures forth across the garden to the far side of the shed. On her journey, she meets her pal Lewis Ladybug, who greets her warmly, points the way, and offers sage advice. When Addie arrives at her destination, she’s welcomed by lovely Beatrix Butterfly and enjoys an “ant-tastic” helping of watermelon. Beatrix also provides Addie with take-home treats and a map for the “Cricket Express,” which will take her straight home. Arriving at the terminal, Addie’s delighted to meet another friend, Cleo Cricket, whose carriage service returns Addie home in “two hops.” After eating a warm tomato soup dinner, Addie falls asleep and dreams of future exploits. Adorable though not terribly original, this story brims with sensuous pleasures, both textual and visual. Kids who declare that they dislike fruits or veggies may find their mouths watering at the mentions and sights of luscious tomatoes, peas, beans, watermelons, berries, and other foodstuffs; insect-averse readers may likewise think differently after encountering these convivial, wide-eyed characters. And those flowers and herbs everywhere! The highlights are the colors that burst from the pages. Addie’s an endearing, empowering character who reassures children they’ll be able to take those first independent steps successfully.
Young readers will be “antsy” to join the hero on her satisfying escapade. (author’s note about ants) (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: April 9, 2024
ISBN: 9781797228914
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.
The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 21, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
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